Sepp Blatter expected to seek another term as Fifa president

Many things are on the agenda at football’s annual congress – that’s the meeting of all the national FAs and the six regional confederations.

Sepp Blatter had good news for both – huge bonus payments, of just under a million each for the 209 FAs, and 7 million each for the confederations. He also confirmed assets of $3bn, and $1.4bn in reserves.

No, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas and it’s these – mostly men – who will vote next year on the next president. Which is all you need to know to understand why Blatter will, if he decides to, win another four-year term, despite having said in 2011 that he wouldn’t.

Uefa may have made a right old song and dance yesterday, but they have yet to put up an alternative candidate. And they’re not going to mount the sit down protest they’ve been threatening.

Blatter hasn’t formally declared himself yet, but he’s expected to in the next few hours, so far today only alluding to the future: “We  need a stable leadership to guide the way, and we shall be supported by a dynamic, responsible and ambitious congress. You should be an ambitious congress now … I am an optimist.”

Now what might get in the way of this?  Well, Michael Garcia, the former al Qaeda prosecutor who’s now investigating how Qatar won the vote to hold the 2022 World Cup, is expected to speak any moment.

He may say nothing: expect “I’m investigating and I can’t tell you anything”  – although it’s thought that he has now asked the Sunday Times for the information they’ve been publishing these last few weeks.

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